Sister Abigail
by Rose Starre
Summary: Some years ago, a fourteen-year-old Bray Wyatt met a girl with a particularly peculiar outlook on life. Her name was Abigail.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not, and will not, own anyone in this story. Technically, I don't own Abigail either.**

 **(Please note that this is just my rendition of who Sister Abigail is. This story should not be taken literally.)**

"Bray!" Bo called, bursting inside from the front yard. He bounded over to his brother, clearly displaying the limitless energy commonly characterized by eleven-year-old children. "There's a new kid moving in across the street! We should go say hi!"

Bray, however, having recently crossed over into adolescence, was less enthusiastic. "Why don't you go yourself?" he asked.

"Mom said we should never leave the yard alone," Bo pointed out, crossing his arms. "Besides, we never do anything together anymore."

"Fine," Bray grumbled, standing up from where he had been seated.

The moving truck was fairly easy to find once the two boys were outside. As they watched, a rather slender girl with jet back hair emerged from the house. She blinked indignantly at the sunlight, then directed her gaze towards the children watching her from across the street.

Bo was the one to break the relatively tense silence. "Hi!" he called, waving enthusiastically.

"That is not how you greet a lady, Bo," Bray scolded. "Follow my lead." Bo nodded, giggling with amusement at his brother's sudden change in demeanor.

Bray made his way casually across the street, knowing that every step was under the scrutinizing glare of the newcomer. Once he reached the girl's yard, he inclined his head slightly, acknowledging her presence. "Hello, miss…" he said, pausing so she could fill the blank with her name. But, she remained silent.

"Are you deaf?" Bo enquired, looking genuinely concerned.

"I am not," the girl snapped before Bray could quiet his brother. She shot the two of them a poisonous glare. "I can hear you just fine."

"I am truly sorry about Bo," Bray apologized hastily. "He's just a little…" He halted, mentally searching for the right word.

"Abigail," the girl said abruptly.

"What?" Bray questioned, quite confused.

"My name's Abigail," the girl repeated. "That's what you came here for, isn't it?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Abigail," Bray responded, recovering slightly. "I'm Bray."

"Could we perhaps go somewhere quieter?" Abigail asked, glancing at Bo, who was now engrossed in trying to catch a butterfly.

"I'll handle this," Bray sighed. He approached his brother and said, "Bo, you should get back home. Mom's probably worried about you."

"What about you?" Bo retorted, abandoning his chase.

"You'll tell her where I am, won't you?" Bray requested.

"I guess," Bo murmured.

"There's a good little brother," Bray said, smirking smugly.

"But if I get hit by a car, it'll be your fault," Bo grumbled, trudging back towards home.

All of a sudden, Abigail asked, "Bray, do I scare you?"

"No," Bray replied, "Why would you?"

Abigail looked at him thoughtfully for a minute. "Then I might be able to make some use of you," she muttered.

"Use me?" Bray enquired, once again thoroughly confused. "What do you mean?"

"No one listens to me. They all think I'm crazy," Abigail explained. "But, I need someone to pass my message along to."

"Message?" Bray began to ask. He stopped when he noticed Abigail was staring at something across the street. Turning around, he found Bo gesturing frantically for him to return home. "I should get home," he said almost apologetically. "Maybe we could talk about this later."

"I found a tree house in the oak in my backyard," Abigail noted. "Can you get there tonight?"

"Tonight?" Bray repeated, shocked. "My parents won't like that very much."

"Do you trust me or not?" Abigail questioned. "I'll make sure the gate's unlocked. You'll just have to be as sneaky as you can."

"I'll see what I can do," Bray responded. "See you tonight, Abigail."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I continue to own nothing**

This was not the first time Bray had snuck out of the house. He had often slipped out into the nearby forest in order to escape his brother if the need arose. However, that had always occurred while the sun was up. Now, it was after nightfall, when getting caught carried dire consequences.

About twenty minutes after his parents had gone to bed, Bray padded across the room. He had to be especially careful, lest he wake up Bo and, in doing so, cause a serious setback. He gently brushed the curtains aside and undid the latch. With a final glance back to make sure he hadn't awakened his brother, he dropped the short distance to the ground.

With a carefully measured, but still quickened pace, he crossed the street and ducked behind the bushes adorning the opposite yard. After waiting a few minutes to see if he'd been followed, he crossed the yard and found the gate unlocked as Abigail had promised. He stepped warily through it, making sure to close it behind him.

A lone oak tree stood forlornly in the middle of the back yard, a small wooden room nestled among the leaves on its branches. A flickering light emanated from within. Bray approached the tree and took hold of the rope ladder dangling from the room's doorway.

Once he had reached the top, Bray immediately noticed Abigail sitting beside a lantern. She was watching the flame and didn't seem to have noticed his arrival. He was about to announce his presence when she spoke, "I was almost afraid you wouldn't show up."

"How did you…?" Bray began to ask.

Abigail pointed at the floor. "There's a loose floorboard right behind the door," she explained. "I always know whenever someone comes or goes."

"That makes sense," Bray replied, making a mental note and shifting his weight off of the board. The wood beneath his feet groaned in protest. "Is this safe?" he enquired.

Looking up with sudden anger, Abigail stared at her visitor. "I thought you trusted me," she noted, her voice taking on an accusatory tone.

"I do," Bray responded hastily, afraid he would irritate her further by disagreeing. He sat down tentatively, repeatedly telling himself that it was only the floorboards he was having trouble trusting. "So, about this message you were telling me about earlier…" he began.

Holding up a hand to quiet him, Abigail whispered, "Don't you hear them?"

"Hear who?" Bray enquired, straining to hear what Abigail was talking about. Try though he might, he could detect nothing outside of the quiet rustling of the wind through the leaves.

"They've never told me their names," Abigail explained, "So I only refer to them as 'Them'."

"'Them?'" Bray enquired. "But who…?"

"I just told you that I don't know," Abigail hissed. She sat silently for a time, staring off and listening to 'them'.

Staring down at his hands, Bray fidgeted slightly, trying to figure out what to do now. "W-what are they telling you?" he asked quietly.

"Strange things," Abigail replied hazily, lifting her gaze to the shadows dancing on the ceiling. "It's hard to explain."

The two of them passed several long minutes in this manner, silent and tensely listening to every little noise, either real or imagined. Suddenly, Abigail's expression changed to one of intense fear and she promptly blew out the little light within the lantern. "What gives?" Bray exclaimed in alarm.

"Shh!" Abigail hissed. "They're here."

"What are you talking about?" Bray whispered.

"I can't tell you much now," Abigail murmured. "But they'll kill you if they find you here." She began pushing Bray towards the door. "You have to leave!"

Bray glanced out the door and strained to see any sort of threat in the darkness. "But I don't see anything," he protested.

Abigail halted momentarily. "A snake's skin is the same color as the leaves," she stated. "You won't see it until it's too late." She sat silently for a few seconds, as though dazed by her own utterance. "Now go!" she suddenly insisted, giving Bray an especially forceful shove.

Now afraid that the new neighbor would push him right out of the treehouse if he lingered any longer, Bray made his way down the ladder. Sending one last, confused glance at the darkened doorway, he stealthily hurried towards home.

 _I am deeply sorry about my recent months-long hiatus. School has been downright killing my brain as of late and I couldn't find the inspiration to write, which utterly sucks. On the flip side, I hope to be able to continue my sudden flood of creative-ness and write more often. With luck, I'll be seeing you guys again next chapter. Until then, peace._


End file.
